Machine for making twine



. 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

G. A. LOWRY. MACHINE FOR MAKING TWINE.

No. 436,908. Patented Sept. 23, 1890.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets--Sheet 2.

G. A. LOWRY. MAGHINE FOR MAKING TWINE:

No. 436,908. Patented Sept. 23, 1890.

(No Model.) 3 Skeete -Sheet 3 G. A. LOWRY.

MACHINE FOR MAKING TWINE. I No. 436,908. Patented Sept. 23, 1890.

I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. LOWRY, OF DES MOINES, IOWA.

MACHINE FOR MAKING TWINE.

SPEGIFICQZ EION forming part of Letters Patent No. 436,908, datedSeptember 23, 1890.

' Application filed February. 14, 1890. erial No. 340,899. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnonen A. Lower, a citizen of the United States,residing at Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, haveinvented a new and useful Machine for Making Twine, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to a machine for making twine, cord, rope, or anysimilar article. Such twine, cord, rope, 800., may be used to bindgrain, to make bagging and matting, and for other purposes.

The object of the invention is to simplify and render more efficient themachines of this class heretofore in use forsuch purposes, and theinvention consists in the construction and combinations hereinafterdescribed, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings like letters refer to the same parts.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 is avertical andlongitudinal section thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section of thesame. Fig. 4 is a plan View of the machine. Fig. 5 is a detail view ofone of the spring twister-arms. Fig. 6 is an end View looking inward ofthe twister-head with the four spring twister-arms mounted therein. Fig.7 is a side view of the same, and Fig. Sis a vertical section of amodified form of twister-he'ad and twister-arms.

In the drawings I have shown the operative parts of the machine mountedin a convenient portable frame A; but it is obvious that such parts maybe readily mounted upon the frame of a harvesting-machine or of theweaving-loom with which it may be used or otherwise placed or mounted.

The operative parts of the machine maybe driven by any suitabledevice-such as a crank or treadle-or by any of the known forms ofmotors.

In the drawings I have shown a powerpulley B, two transferring-pulleys CC, anda smaller transferring-pulley D, mounted upon a shaft E, which isjournaled in the frame A. The pulleys O O are connected by belts O Owith suitable pulleys F F, arranged upon the twister-head G, and thethread-carrier head H. The pulley D is connected by abelt D with apulley I upon the extended shaft of one of the feeding=rolls J. In placeof these several pulleys it is manifest suitable gearing might beemployed. The mechanism whichconnects one of the pulleys O with thepulley upon the thread carrierhead must be arranged so as to cause thelatter to be rotated in a reverse direction to that in which thetwister-head is being moved, and in the construction illustrated Iaccomplish this ob- 6o ject by crossing one C of the bands.

I prefer to use two twister-arms K K, made of spring metal, the outerends of which are fastened to the twister-head and the inner ends ofwhich project beyond such head a convenient distance, and are providedwith clamps to grasp the material to be twisted. The construction whichI prefer to employ is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and in this formthe inner surface of the twister-head is inclined to cause thespring-arms to converge, and the tension of such arm is adjusted bysuitable set-screws K.

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have shown four arms arranged as just described, andin Fig. 8 of said drawingsI have exhibited a modified con struction,which in practice I have found to work quite well. In this modifiedconstruction the twister-arms are rigid and hinged to the twister-head,and have small springs Gr interposed between them and the inner surfaceof such head. The thread-carrier head is hollow, and besides having thepulley mounted thereon has two arms L L carried thereby. The arm L isthe support for a spool 8 5 M, upon which is Wound any suitable thread,whilethe arm L hasahollowouter e'nd,through which the twisted materialpasses, and a perforation a, through which the thread from the spool isguided. The hollow portion of the arm L operates to prevent the twistedcord, &c.,

from rising or buckling under the pulling action of the thread beingwound upon such cord. Some sort of conveyer of the materials to betwisted must be employed, and I have 5 found most effective a taperingtrough or spout N, the inner end of which extends immediately adjacentto the clamps upon the twister arms. It is very convenient to pass thistrough or spout through the hollow heads G H, but of 10a course otherarrangements are practicable.

The extension of the trough or spout adjacent to the twister-arms is inpractice found very advantageous, for it confines the material adjacentto such arms and prevents it from bulging or breaking under the strainof the twisting operation, and thus presents a compact smooth mass to beclasped by said arms.

Many kinds of devices for drawing the twisted twine, cord, or ropethrough the machine may be used; but I prefer to change the direction ofsuch twine, &c., by a frictionroller m, and cause it to be fed forwardby a pair of grooved rollers J J, mounted on the main frame so as tofeed at right angles to the direction of the passage of the materialthrough the twisting mechanism.

The operation is as follows: The hay, jute, manila, or other. materialis placed in the conveyer or trough and fed forward, eitherautomatically or manually, to the twisterarms, which grasp and compressand at the same time twist such material to the desired degree. The sizeof the twine or rope is regulated by the amount fed forward, by theopening between the clamps, and the tension of the spring employed. Theamount of twist is also regulated by the tension of the springs used.After the twine is twisted it passes through the hollow guiding-arm L,before mentioned, and at that point the thread is wound around it by thethread-carrier, which latter is revolving in the opposite direction tothat of the twister-arm. At the same time the feeding-rolls are drawingthe twine through the machine. Hence the thread is wound in a spiralmanner. After passing through the feed-rolls the article is finished,and is wound upon a roll or otherwise delivered in the customary manner.

Many modifications and variations of my invent-ion as heretoforedescribed will readily suggest themselves to the skilled mechanic; and Ido not attempt to herein specify them, for'that would be impossible.

' What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a revoluble twisting device with areversely-revoluble thread-carrier, a conveyer for feeding the materialto the twister, and suitable mechanism for drawing the twisted articlethrough the machine.

2. The combination of a revoluble twisting device with a reverselyrevoluble thread-carrier, a tapering spout or trough, and suitablemechanism for drawing the twisted article through the machine.

3. The combination of the twisting-jaws with a trough or spout havingits delivery end extending into immediate proximity to suchtwistingjaws, and a suitable means for drawing the material from suchspout or trough and through the twisting-jaws, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

4. The combination of a revoluble twisting device with areversely-revoluble thread-carrier, a conveyer for feeding the materialto the twister,.a guiding and supporting device for the twisted articlewhile it is beingwrapped with the thread, and suitable mechanism fordrawing such twisted article through the machine.

5. The combination of the revoluble twisting device with areversely-revoluble threadcarrier, a trough or spout having the innerend extending into immediate proximity to such twisting device, ahollowguide and support for the twisted article while it is being wrapped, andsuitable means for drawing the article through the machine.

6. The combination of a revoluble twisting device with areversely-revoluble thread-carrier, a trough or spout, a hollow guide orsupport for the twisted article, a friction roller or pulley forchanging the direction of travel of such article, and drawing-rollersarranged so as to feed at right angles to the other operating mechanism,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination of a pulley having a hollow hub, an independentfeeding spout or trough extending therethrough, and twistingarms securedat one end to such hollow hub and projecting beyond the same,substantially as shown and described.

8. A revoluble twisting device, a threadcarrying device, and an armsupporting and guiding both the twisted article and the thread to bewound upon the same, substantially as shown and described.

9. A twisting device comprising elastic arms IOO secured at one end tothe inner surface of the hollow hub of a revoluble pulley and theirother ends projecting and provided with clamping-j aws, and adjustingdevices for such springs, also secured to such hub, substantially asshown and described.

10. In a machine for making twine, the combination of a revolubletwisting device, a thread-carrier,and an arm having a grooved portionfor supporting and guiding the twisted article, and a perforation at anangle to such grooved portion for guiding the thread to the twistedarticle, substantially as shown and described.

11. In a machine for making twine, &c.,the combination of a hollowrevoluble hub carrying the twister, another such hub bearing the threadto be wound upon the twisted article, and a spout or trough extendingthrough such hubs and to the twisting-jaws.

12. In a machine for making twine, &c., the combination of a hollowrevoluble hub carrying arms with clamps at their ends, another hollowhub reversely revoluble carrying a spool of thread, and an arm providedwith hollow portion with an aperture in its wall, and suitabledrawing-rollers, substantially as shown and described. 0

GEORGE A. LOWRY.

Witnesses:

M. R. CLARKE, L. O. MERRILL.

